UPCOMING EVENTS

One of the biggest games of the decade has hit another milestone. Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V has sped past 90 million copies sold-in to retailers and sold-through digitally worldwide. The 2013 open-world crime game has had “unparalleled longevity,” according to publisher Take-Two Interactive, due to the appeal of GTA: Online.

Take-Two confirmed in a press release that GTA V was the No. 3 best-selling game in the United States in 2017 in terms of copies, and it was No. 6 in terms of revenues, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. And while Take-Two had other, newer games, like NBA 2K18 and WWE 2K18, Grand Theft Auto and its in-game digital purchases were the biggest contributors to its total revenues.

When Zelnick talks about “recurrent” spending, he means digital purchases from people who have already bought a game. This is key to Take-Two’s (and other publishers’) strategy going forward, and it is paying off at the moment. That recurrent consumer spending grew 44 percent year-over-year for Take-Two.

Take-Two also note that the growing consumer base of hardcore gamers has benefited GTA V as it has maintained its “must have” status.

With Red Dead Redemption 2 launching October 2, Take-Two is promising record revenues to its investors. Gamers are wild with anticipation for that open-world western, and the publisher expects that it will have generate $2.5 billion in revenues and $700 million in net cash. That’s a lot of loot.